I spent a number of years sticking by tried-and-true Barbicide as my go-to disinfectant. Ultimately, I got tired of all my nylon brushes getting stained blue from the dye in it and I went to work at a salon where they all used Marvicide. I’ve been using that ever since — with occasional bouts of Tammy Taylor’s disinfectant thrown in to keep everyone on their toes because it’s pink.

Some time ago I had a discussion regarding the cost of disinfectant with another tech who used OPI Spa Complete. My 2-oz. per gallon Marvicide to her 1-oz. per gallon OPI came out a tad pricier, so today, as I finally used the last of my hoard of Marvicide, I stopped by my local supplier and picked up some OPI.

So I have a one quart bottle of the stuff because the local distributor doesn’t carry gallons, which cost me $32 after taxes. That’s a buck an ounce!

With a standard short disinfectant jar which is one quart, that would mean $.25 cents a day for those of us who use enough implements in day to change their disinfectant daily. Which doesn’t sound unreasonable, right? Except then I read the label.

The initial directions for use are stated eloquently first and foremost at the top of the label: “Directions for use ... blah blah blah, violation of federal law to use in a manner inconsistent with labeling, blah blah ... Preparation of disinfectant use-solution: Add 1 oz. per gallon of water...”

Then there’s heavy-duty use mixing directions, then there are directions for using the stuff to disinfect pedi spas — 1 oz. per gallon of water. I don’t use a pedi spa or tub, but I believe they usually hold three to five gallons of water, yes? That’s $3-$5 per pedi just to disinfect the tub between uses! Yipes, I just got even more suspicious of cheap pedicure spas.

But that’s all neither here nor there. Here’s where I shake my head in wonder: Down at the bottom, below the pedi tub disinfection directions, there are directions for disinfecting salon/barbering instruments and tools.

(Scratches head) Um, OK. That does sound like what I bought it for. These directions say mix two ounces per gallon of water.

Well that is a difference, isn’t it? It’s not an issue of the cost ultimately, although if we really want to pinch pennies, there are alternatives with a lower cost-per-use. What I’m really upset about is that most people I know who use this stuff mix it 1:128, in accordance with those initial directions at the top of the label. They’re thinking they are doing everything right and using properly disinfected implements... and then, down there at the bottom, it turns out that that’s not the case at all!

I know it’s not just me. A lot of people have sung the pricing praises of this product based on that 1 oz./1 gallon mix ratio. It turns out, that’s not cutting it for implements.

Yeah, I do think the label could be more forthcoming. It’s not exactly confusing, but companies must know that these products are used for disinfection of implements, right? Why aren’t those directions clearly stated at the beginning instead of the whole label starting off with the words, “directions for use?”